Shifting
by HoppedUpOnHope
Summary: Life is always shifting, changing in unexpected ways. I thought my life was done shifting around me but as it turns out, it has only just begun.


**NOTE: I own nothing yadda yadda yadda yadda Stephanie Meyers. (sp?) **

I was never cared for in life. My parents were on drugs when I was conceived and my dad left when he found out my mom was pregnant. She had me and cleaned up her act, raised me the best she could as a single mom. Three years later, my father shows up, gets her back in the Devil's grasp and knocks her up again. This time when he leaves, he leaves for good. He was found two years later, dead in an alley-way with stab wounds and high amounts of meth in his system. My mom wasn't able to kick her habits this time. She ODed a month after my little sister Lindy's fourth birthday and we were immediately shipped off. I felt a need to protect her after that. She was so young and fragile. She hadn't understood what had happened to our mom and I would always make up grand stories for her so she wouldn't have to deal with the truth. My extreme behavior and Lindy's odd personality landed us in a small town called La Push (who names a town La Push?) in Washington with an eccentric old lady on the reservation. I loved and cared for Nana (the old lady) and Lindy as best I could but I never felt like they reciprocated. They didn't show it, at least. Until I met Jacob, I always felt unloved. He was what changed everything for me.

The first words he said to me were "Are you okay? You always look so sad." No one had ever asked me if I was okay before. I could have offered a blithe response but I could see in his eyes that he really cared so for once, I bit my tongue and held back my sarcastic remarks. I stayed silent. As the air around us steadily filled with an awkward silence, his face blazed red and he started to shifting uncomfortably.

"I didn't mean to pry or anything," he sputtered, "I was just, I don't know, thinking you, like, looked so depressed and lonely and stuff all the time and thought you might want to, like, talk about it or something but if-"

"Thanks," I interrupted, "but I don't think I'm ready to talk about anything yet." That was it. That was the moment the turned my life around. It was magical.

**Six Years Later**

It's hard to believe that for so many years, I've had this amazing best friend always there for me. He was there to help me when Lindy was struggling to use her odd personality (which was apparently 'protégé material' even though they butchered the English language in this compliment) to get her notched up a grade and has always helped me keep my emotions in check. (Literally, he has a chart and everything) I tried to make friends so everyone would worry about me less but the only one who has stuck is Emily, the other half of my soul. Besides Jacob, she's the only person who's ever had the patience to deal with me. She's quirky, smart, bubbly and funny, even if her taste doesn't reflect it. I swear, if I didn't have Emily there for me in places where Jacob couldn't be, I would probably have given up on life long ago. But its here, with Emily and me, that the real story begins.

Emily and I go to the woods every week, as is tradition. We decided the very first time that it would always just be us, Jacob wasn't allowed. The meadow that we go to is way back in the woods but we found short cuts so it doesn't take that long to reach. This meadow was our haven. When we were there, we could talk about anything and know that no one would hear. All of our deepest secrets are held in that meadow and we've never had to worry about anything before that Friday. We arrived at our usual place in the meadow to find tree branches and leaves scattered all over the place. We could both tell that something was wrong, but we stayed anyway. Emily had bugged me all day about some nagging secret she was eager to spill and I didn't want to get spooked over nothing so we spread out our blanket and sat down.

"I'm in love with Robert," she sighed the moment we sat down, looking around edgily after she spoke it. I, of course, was to shocked to be so precautious.

"YOU'RE WHAT?!?" I shouted, staring at her with what I know must have been a bug eyed expression.

"Oh, don't be like that. He's not that bad," she said, playing with the hem of her short ruffle dress. Her dark brown eyes looked up at me from under heavily shadowed lids and gave me a desperate stab at a wounded-puppy-on-the-street look. "I've been talking to him every day in science."

Of course she would. That was one of the only four classes we didn't have together. "You can't. He's a nasty perv who wont want anything but to get in your pants!" I glared at her weak attempt at a puppy face and she gave up and switched to exasperation.

"I know what people say but he _told_ me he didn't just want that. He said that he thinks I'm funny and smart and beautiful and I told him he was a liar but still, he makes me feel special," she said, blushing.

"Em, you really think that every girl he has ever dated would ban together to destroy his reputation when most of them broke up with him and his friends even say it about him? Honestly, I worry about your self confidence. Plus, he-"

"Did you hear that?" asked Emily, looking around skeptically.

"No, now stop trying to change the subject."

"No, really, there it is again!" she whispered and sure enough the sound of rustling leaves and cracking twigs rang out in the empty valley. "Creeee-pee," Emily sing-songed before leaping up. "I'm not staying here. Everything feels… weird today." She roughly pulled the blanket out from under me and started folding.

"Okay, I agree but this discussion is far from over," I said, narrowing my eyes at her.

"Sure, sure," she said, hurrying toward the path to the car.

I stood up and gave one last look around the valley. As I turned back to the impatient Emily, I thought I saw a figure on the far side. I blinked and squinted but it was gone. I stared for a moment longer but nothing happened.

"What are you staring at?" demanded Emily.

"N-nothing. I just thought I saw something over there."

"Well, you obviously didn't cause there's nothing there so lets _go_." And so I turned around and we left, though it still felt like someone was watching me.

**NOTE- C&C or I shall smite you in your sleep.**


End file.
